Praising Science and Socialism, Our Twin Saviors

BECAUSE OF SCIENCE, we have airplanes, cars, computers, heart surgery, television, radio, and several million other wonderful life enhancers, far too many to mention. (Technology is applied science, science in action in service to humanity). Some might argue that humans were happier in a prescientific age of primitive, stone age life, like the native Americans; perhaps in some instances this is true, probably not, overall. Science,, upon which our better quality of life is predicated, exists not because of religion, but in spite of it, and would have improved our lives and saved many lives had its progress not been impeded by religious superstition. None of these scientific marvels resulted from religion every benefit ever bestowed by religion could have been provided by other means, using truth rather than fantasy, mythology, and dogma. Science is superior to religion, because it yields far more truth. the spirituality inherent in a scientific understanding of nature is far more spiritually advanced than any put forth by any religion. Because of socialism, we have police protection, fire protection, streets and highways, public schools and universities, social security, and several million other life enhancers, fundamental, absolutely essential government services, too numerous to mention. Socialism is government, which in a liberal democracy is cooperation by popular participation. Consider whether you would prefer your local police department by privately owned, and operated on a for profit basis, with the cost of police protection subject to the fluctuations of the free market. The same hold true of fire protection. What if every street and highway you needed to use were controlled by private, profit seeking interests? Good luck getting there without being ht hard in the pocket book. Capitalism was defined and described bets by Adam Smith in "The Wealth of Nations", the bible of capitalism. it is not widely known that Smith stipulated that properly functioning free market should result in economic equality between workers and owners,a nd that if it didn't, something was awry in the market, and should be corrected by government action to assist the poor, but never the wealthy. Obviously, our modern capitalist system has gone far astray of what Adam Smith intended. religion began as a well intentioned, honest effort among primitive, ignorant people to explain, understand, and gain some measure of control over the frightening world in which they lived. When emotion took over and dogma replaced reason and inquiry, religion went far astray, where it remains today, moored to false beliefs and damaging dogmas. religion has its place as a means to revere the wonders of nature, and capitalism has its place as a means to produce wealth and prosperity, but religion must at some point be directed by science, and capitalism must be heavily regulated by government and socialism, as it already is in every economically successful country in the world. Future human success will depend on reason, not mythology, and cooperation and planning, not blindly functioning free markets.